Take Me or Leave Me
by soulful-sin
Summary: JC, hints of SL  Why does Cindy act the way she does? How can she snap at Jimmy one moment and secretly love him the next?


Author's Note: I need to stop listening to Rent again. Lol. At any rate, since it's not being used as lyrics and technically, that's Rent's slogan, what I quoted does not count as a violation.

At any rate, I started this because I needed to better understand Cindy and Jimmy/Cindy as a couple. I think it helped.

Jimmy Neutron belongs to DNA Productions and, man, am I hungry.

Take Me Or Leave Me

Another day, another argument. This time, it surpassed others in sheer volume and persistence. The two had commenced bickering at recess's start and, well into its fiftieth minute, had stopped only to draw their breaths. They snarled, jabbed, and sniped like two contestants in a boxing match. Neither admitted defeat nor would they permit such a profane word to enter their vocabulary, much less became an option. Instead, they circled each other endlessly.

The odd thing was, Cindy couldn't recall exactly what incited this particular bout. Jimmy spoke, she disagreed, and five seconds later, she prepped herself to tear his head clear off his shoulders. Blood pounding, heart racing, words flew freely, rebuttals and insults alike. Anyone attempting to keep track of the mess would have thrown up their hands in disgust. Indeed, Libby, Sheen, and Carl had already done so. 'Never tickle a sleeping dragon' and 'never, ever, interrupt Jimmy and Cindy in the middle of a battle royale'.

"Since when are _you _omniscient?" she snarled, poking him in the chest. No matter what the topic, no matter how it began, they wound up dangerously close together. However, her mental 'guards' were sufficiently conducive to belligerence, not romance. Unless he conceded defeat, she'd stubbornly attack the issue.

"I never stated I was," Jimmy shot back hotly, eyes ablaze. "You're twisting my words!"

Cindy opened her mouth to retort when, to the great relief of their friends, the bell rang. Smirking confidently, pleased he'd gotten the last word, Jimmy strolled ahead with Carl and Sheen. Cindy seethed, vowing that this wasn't over. Libby rolled her eyes; by now, she'd become accustomed to the 'love-hate relationship' and counseled her friend. Cindy wasn't listening. She'd tuned her out ages ago.

* * *

For as long as she could remember, Cindy Vortex had striven to excel. Whether it was science, math, poetry, or prose, her mother had instilled in her the necessity to not only defeat the competition, but drive it straight out of the ballpark and crying home. She took a great deal of pride in her daughter, but also demanded a great deal in return. Rivalries were supposed to flourish, because she had to win. Therefore, any incidentals, such as love, were competitions too, but of a different nature. What that nature was, she dared not ask. Somehow, she doubted her mother would approve of her affection towards Jimmy.

This was why she missed the island. There was no pressure to succeed, to perform every task admirably, or to hide herself away. Sure, she could have fought bitterly with Jimmy, but what was the point? Who kept track when it was just the two of them?

She could be greedy too, if the situation merited it. Money, power, and intellect held an irresistible allure; she admitted it. She'd been 'interested' in Timmy Turner because he supposedly exceeded Jimmy in that department, but she had to admit, she had a rather mean streak. Truthfully, while she enjoyed his attention, she'd secretly hoped it'd garner Jimmy's jealousy. The longer she maintained this pretense, the more he'd come to realize his true feelings, correct? Not to mention she relished the conflict and for once, being the object of two boys' affections instead of being ignored in light of Betty Quinlin and girls like her.

Okay, so add insecure to that list. Her mother pressured her to 'be the best', but since Jimmy arrived on the scene, she fell to second place. What was she if she wasn't the smartest, the brightest, 'perfect'? Knocking Jimmy down a few pegs before had temporarily boosted her ego, but it hadn't worked in the long run. When the stress existed and demanded its toll on her, she knew her occasional shallowness was a façade. She was only attractive, intelligent, and worthy when compared to someone else. Supremacy was everything.

Thus, when she realized she'd fallen in love with Jimmy, she found herself sinking in quicksand. He was a rival, so she couldn't outwardly reveal she cared. Yet, simultaneously, she became irascibly possessive. Jimmy was _hers_; she'd seen him first. True, she usually treated him badly, but he was _hers _to mistreat. Betty Quinlin, that alien girl April, and anyone else had no right to sink their claws into him.

Meanwhile, her beliefs caused a whirlwind of confusion. She wasn't supposed to love her rival, that much was certain. Yet he was _her _rival, which already eliminated the competition in her mind. She'd overlooked any trivial contests in favor of his ultimate challenge. That alone signified something, didn't it? His interest, be it negative or positive, should belong to her solely. And, for the most part, she managed to steal it quite often.

Simultaneously, she wanted to be softer, sweeter, the type of girl he liked. Despite gathering his concentration during their battles, it was transitory. Nonetheless, the idea that he was her rival was imprinted into her mind. She wasn't supposed to be kind or considerate. Only when the situation grew dire could she afford to shove that back. Her own pride obstinately refused to acquiesce to him, but she could override it if she absolutely had to.

Ironic, it was, that both suffered from tremendous pride. More often than not, it was their egos dishing out blows while, at least in her case, her true feelings waited on the sidelines. She had too much to publicly expose herself, but whenever it waned, she tried in various ways to make him see her for her. Unfortunately, unless she practically slammed him in the head, he was surprisingly thick when it came to her.

_Or, _she reflected sourly, _maybe it's the opposite. Maybe I don't want to see it because love makes me feel powerless. When I'm biting off his head, I can control…no, wait…_

She couldn't control herself, then. But arguments were a different matter than love. Love wasn't a debate, unless you considered it one as an inner monologue. However, neither were adhering to her demands and, to her displeasure, her feelings amplified her reactions to Jimmy. The further she slid, the further from safety she was. It was like looking up at the top of a huge cliff from the bottom of a ravine, swallowing hard, grabbing a rock edge, and toppling to the ground. Love had stranded her.

The analogy made her smile. She remembered jumping, hand tightly wound about Jimmy's, off a cliff and landing in an oasis. Maybe she spent too much time questioning what she'd lost and scrambling to return to the past and less surveying her surroundings. Love was downright terrifying, like the leap, but if you never attempted it, you might never know what you missed. Or, in her case, she'd get swallowed by vicious snakes.

She'd once asked Libby why in her right mind she would like Sheen. Libby had tuned down the music, stared at her, and answered simply. Despite his idiosyncrasies, ADD, and whatever else addled the poor boy's brain, he was sweet. Unfortunately, that line of conversation had quickly gone sour, because Libby had added, "But I don't like him nearly as much as you like Jimmy". This had led to Cindy stoutly denying it and the subject dying rapidly. By that point, Libby had given up trying to dissuade Cindy; if she wouldn't acknowledge it existed, she'd learn on her own.

_They ought to teach love in school_, she remarked, turning her head to see Jimmy doodling the blueprints for an experiment beside her. Miss Fowl had gone outside to converse with the principal and, thus, left the children to their own devices, which might not be a mistake. Around her, kids chattered, threw paper airplanes, and otherwise amused herself. Gulping, she edged her chair closer to Jimmy until, unless he'd gone blind recently, he had to spot her.

"What are you working on?" she inquired softly, scanning the paper. A lot of technical jargon, some of which she knew only because she'd spent a great deal of time reading science books recently. Next time she started up with him, she'd reasoned, she wanted to have an inkling what she was talking about.

While he did see her, he was too focused on sketching to speak. Finally, muttering under his breath, he glanced at her. Gesturing to the contraption intently, she tried to figure out what its possible uses were. Jimmy blinked, taken aback. When was the last time she'd taken an active interest in anything he invented, short of teasing him unmercifully?

"It's a matter disrupter. Unlike a teleportation device, which would involve creating two constructs and placing them strategically, it will dissemble an object or person and reassemble them whenever a link exists between two objects, such as a cell phone. The conduit in that case would be the phone wires. It'd be more cost effective than teleportation and, supposing I can deduce the proper formulas and implement them successfully, it could be highly practical," he explained and she blinked, stunned. He'd designed something useful _and _marketable. That was, if it didn't flop like many of his more impressive endeavors. Still, Goddard, the rocket ship, and the hovercraft worked remarkably well.

"Wow…" she breathed, aware she'd stared, astonished, for a minute. "That's…really something, Jimmy."

"You aren't going to tell me how I'll end up halfway here and halfway elsewhere, stuck in two places? Or how you bet it'll never work?" he replied in disbelief.

"And you called me Jimmy…"

"I…I think it'll work, if your calculations are right. I think-" she stopped abruptly when Miss Fowl reentered the room. Sliding away guiltily, she fixated on her desk rather than the fact she'd paid him a compliment. She could feel his eyes on her, and, rather than ignore him like she might normally do, she lifted her head and smiled at him. He smiled back and only Miss Fowl accidentally slamming a book interrupted their gaze.

* * *

School ended, and, sighing in relief, Jimmy stowed his sketches securely inside his back. Carl and Sheen had agreed to meet him later on and Libby had been dragged, quite unwillingly, Cindy might add, to see an Ultra Lord item. Since the rest of the class had filed out, this left Jimmy and Cindy alone. Awkwardly, gulping and struggling against her pride, she placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from tossing the bag onto his back and taking off.

"I just wanted to apologize," she said and he stared blankly.

"You? Apologize?" he cocked his head curiously, bewildered. "Are you feeling all right?"

"For…well, everything. I know I shouldn't argue pedantically, but I can't help it-"

Grinning ruefully, he interrupted. "I noticed."

"Would you let me get it out?" she snapped and the grin faded. Folding her arms across her chest, she rolled her eyes. She was trying to be patient, but he was terribly good at riling her up.

"I just wanted to say…" The words buried themselves in her throat, and, bereft of an explanation, she wordlessly kissed him on the cheek. He held it in wonder; his cerulean eyes peered like he'd never seen her before.

"I love you."

Jimmy stared at her like a deer in the headlights. She couldn't help but giggle- she'd definitely blindsided him. Libby, threatening Sheen under her breath, arrived at the door, stared at the couple, and swiftly back-stepped. Silence reigned in her absence.

"Do you?' he asked gingerly, hand still cradling his cheek.

Nodding feebly, the weight of her words weakening her knees, she hastily sat. Jimmy sat beside her and, with his free hand, seized hers.

"We're not on a stranded island," he pointed out.

"And you're not the Incredible Hulk Jimmy," she replied, smirking.

"Do you mean it?"

Nodding again, resembling a bobble head doll, she touched his cheek with her hand. He lifted his hand and pressed hers against his. They leaned forward and she shut her eyes. There'd been too many times to count where they'd been on the verge of kissing, yet something prevented them. In that moment, the rest of the world melted away and there was only him; his warm breath on her cheek, his hand atop hers, and her passion for him.

_There is only us. There is only this. No day but today…_

The instant their lips touched, adrenaline rushed through her veins and, more so than that, pleasure overloaded her. She felt her heart race, but his as well. The hand touching hers on the desk shifted to cradle her waist. Though it lasted only a minute, if that long, the world had stopped in that instant. There was nothing else but them. Nothing and no one else mattered.

This certainly explained why Sheen and Carl had stopped bickering about llamas versus UltraLord to gawk at them. Sheen opened his mouth, but before he had the chance to break the moment, Libby hauled him away. Carl followed suit, bemused. What on earth had happened here?

Jimmy and Cindy, holding hands, left Lindbergh Elementary and descended the steps in front. Carl, Sheen, and Libby were waiting, as well as Goddard and the hovercraft. In light of everything else, he'd forgotten he had desired to return home and work on his new idea. Now, that seemed rather unimportant.

"You know, not _all _science 'fiction' shows are completely fictitious," Cindy said, suddenly remembering their argument's purpose.

"Maybe not, but the show you cited has no factual base!" Jimmy retorted, simply continuing where they'd left off.

Sheen sighed, relieved. "Everything's back to normal."

_No, _Cindy thought, smiling. _It's better._

_

* * *

_


End file.
